Evening Dress
14 February 1979 (designed), late 1979 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Zandra Rhodes is first and foremost a textile artist whose clothes are designed to showcase her fabrics. Her designs are unconventional, creative, and always beautifully detailed. The detail shows a plain seam on a blue chiffon evening dress. Rhodes has deliberately reversed the seam, and hand-rolled the exposed chiffon edges. Gold beads make the exposed seam even more of a design feature, and help the fabric hang gracefully.
The textile print is very simple and free. Swirling lines, sweeping curves, and dashed crosses enhance the flowing nature of the silk chiffon. The stylised woman's face, boldly drawn with a few simple lines, has become a Rhodes signature.
In 1979, this dress was part of a group of twenty-five fully accessorised ensembles donated to the Museum to represent the fashions for Winter 1979. It was worn with a pleated satin short cape, also by Rhodes, a brooch by Andrew Logan worn as a hair ornament and a pair of strappy gold high-heeled shoes by La Garonda.
The textile print is very simple and free. Swirling lines, sweeping curves, and dashed crosses enhance the flowing nature of the silk chiffon. The stylised woman's face, boldly drawn with a few simple lines, has become a Rhodes signature.
In 1979, this dress was part of a group of twenty-five fully accessorised ensembles donated to the Museum to represent the fashions for Winter 1979. It was worn with a pleated satin short cape, also by Rhodes, a brooch by Andrew Logan worn as a hair ornament and a pair of strappy gold high-heeled shoes by La Garonda.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 5 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Silk chiffon, silk, sequins, beads, paste stones |
| Brief description | Evening ensemble, printed chiffon and satin, Zandra Rhodes, 1979. |
| Physical description | The bright blue chiffon dress with its linear, swirling printed design of golden stylised faces has a strapless yoke top in gold satin. It is accessorised with a stiffly pleated silk satin cape, a woman's head brooch worn as a hair ornament, and a pair of strappy gold shoes |
| Marks and inscriptions | Zandra Rhodes Sample (Label in dress) |
| Credit line | Given by Miss Zandra Rhodes |
| Object history | The complete ensemble was donated in 1979 with a customised Adel Rootstein mannequin specially made for the purpose of modelling it. This was part of a group of 25 such total ensembles donated in 1979. |
| Historical context | The original design for this dress and its fabric is signed and dated 14 February 1979. The watercolour design is contained in a dramatic purple pleated satin frame in the same 'Bubble' print as the cape, which is how it was exhibited in the British Fashions for Winter 1979 show. |
| Production | Original design for dress and textile is dated 14 February 1979. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Zandra Rhodes is first and foremost a textile artist whose clothes are designed to showcase her fabrics. Her designs are unconventional, creative, and always beautifully detailed. The detail shows a plain seam on a blue chiffon evening dress. Rhodes has deliberately reversed the seam, and hand-rolled the exposed chiffon edges. Gold beads make the exposed seam even more of a design feature, and help the fabric hang gracefully. The textile print is very simple and free. Swirling lines, sweeping curves, and dashed crosses enhance the flowing nature of the silk chiffon. The stylised woman's face, boldly drawn with a few simple lines, has become a Rhodes signature. In 1979, this dress was part of a group of twenty-five fully accessorised ensembles donated to the Museum to represent the fashions for Winter 1979. It was worn with a pleated satin short cape, also by Rhodes, a brooch by Andrew Logan worn as a hair ornament and a pair of strappy gold high-heeled shoes by La Garonda. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.283 to 286&A-1980 |
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| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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